Power, heat, and screens


I the last week since the launch of the iPad, there has been a lot of noise about consumer reports‘ report on the iPad being too hot. It appears they are quickly revising their story. As an owner of all three generations of the iPad, I can say I have not experienced the heat problem. It could be because I don’t run the screen at fully brightness, it could be that I don’t play the right games, or it could be some other reason.

I believe it is because the problem is restricted to a limited use case, which is not valid. From the things I have heard over the last week the use case is as follows:

  • plugin in your iPad to charge
  • make sure your screen brightness is turn all the way up
  • run a graphic intensive application like infinity blade II
  • wait for about 10-15 minutes
  • The great thing about the iPad, and tablets in general, is that it is a truly mobile device, you don’t hold it in your lap while it is plugged in. Laptops on the other hand, tend to be plugged in much more when using it around the house. I think that people who are experiencing this problem, are probably using the device wrong… To paraphrase an old doctor joke… “apple, my iPad is too hot when I use it wrong….’apple – well, don’t use it wrong.’”